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The Crown: Petition Asks Matt Smith to Donate Pay Difference to Time's Up

Matt Smith is urged to donate the difference in his paycheck with The Crown co-star Claire Foy to the Time's Up Movement. The two actors play Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series from Peter Morgan - depicting the younger versions of the British monarchs for two seasons.

Last week, it was revealed Foy received a significantly lower salary compared to Smith in the series due to the latter's Doctor Who fame. It wasn't revealed how much the two actors got, but this development (understandably) put Netflix, The Crown, and Smith in hot water - especially since Foy is the face of the show. And while people behind the series promised that no one will get paid higher than the Queen moving forward (season 3 will see the introduction of an older cast), people are not letting this just slip by.

A brand new petition on The Petition Siteurges Smith to donate the "difference in their paychecks to the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund for Sexual Harassment & Abuse Victims!" As of this writing, it has generated more than 22,000 signatures - not far from its original target of 25,000. Campaign creator Rebecca G made a convincing argument for the petition:

"While it may be easy for some to dismiss gender pay disparity for already high-paid actors like Claire Foy, I believe that publicly addressing high-profile cases of sexism will also help create greater opportunities for all women — in all careers... This is critical moment for Netflix and Crown co-star Matt Smith to show that they stand with women and do the right thing. Sign and share to ask Smith and Netflix to donate the difference in Smith's pay to the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund."

The petition cites a similar situation with Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams during the reshoots for All The Money In The World, where the former was paid significantly more than the latter. Wahlberg drew flak about it and appeased the controversy by donating all of his salary to the movement. And while the petition doesn't urge Smith to do the same thing, it would be better if he does give a fraction of the fee he got from The Crown. The amount isn't really the main topic here, but the actor showing solidarity to the campaign and his female co-workers.

No word from Smith, Foy or Netflix regarding this, but the sooner they acknowledge the matter, the better, especially now when gender pay gap is a hot topic in Hollywood. They really don't want a well-made show to get a bad rap just because of this controversy. If Netflix can blow their budget on production and building of sets (The Crown is the most expensive drama produced by the streaming giant to date), they can pay their talents who are the most pivotal part of their shows accordingly.